Stuart J. Johnston

When Microsoft eventually unveils its Windows Phone 7 handsets, the company hopes to make back at least some of the ground it has lost to Apple, Google, RIM and other smartphone OS developers in the past three or four years. But a new report from IT research firm IDC predicts Windows Phone 7 will have […]

It’s the beginning of the end for the most popular Windows operating system in history. As Hardware Central reports, Dell will no longer sell machines with Windows XP installed once September concludes, effectively putting a sell-by date on the nine-year-old operating system software. The timing seems right considering Microsoft is about to celebrate the first […]

Microsoft’s long-uneasy relationship with security researchers has taken a turn for the worse lately, and the company’s effort at rapprochement frustrated by the latest public revelation of an unpatched vulnerability. The latest, which comes at the hands of a Google employee, affects Internet Explorer 8, a flaw that could see systems be manipulated to send […]

Microsoft is moving toward the next phase in its Elevate America initiative, which the company began in February 2009 as a way to encourage returning veterans to get IT skills and certifications. Now it’s looking to broaden the effort by partnering with nonprofits for career development and training. Datamation takes a look at Microsoft’s expanded […]

Internet Explorer has long enjoyed a dominant position in the browser market. But recent years have seen competitors, most notably Mozilla’s Firefox, chip away at its commanding position. So when IE began to post modest sequential gains in recent months, it came as no surprise that Microsoft seized on the opportunity to tout its browser […]

There’s almost never a lull when it comes to IT security issues — there’s either a threat to respond to or work to be done to try and head off the next one. Earlier this year, for example, Microsoft warned that the number of PCs infected by a virus or other malware had reached epidemic […]

Microsoft has moved to address a vulnerability that potentially put hundreds of Windows applications at risk. The software giant’s solution is a “Fix It” button, which provides automated tools for adjusting settings or fixing problems. In this case, Microsoft is addressing a vulnerability that could enable hackers to target Windows applications using dynamic link libraries […]

As it looks ahead to a brisk holiday season for its mobile division, Microsoft has crossed a significant milestone in the incubation of its new Windows Phone 7 operating system. The software giant announced that the new OS has been “released to manufacturing,” meaning that it is now in the hands of handset makers performing […]

It’s a great time to be a smartphone buyer — assuming you don’t mind wading through all the choices. Ever since Apple’s iPhone jolted the industry at its debut in 2007, competing developer platforms have emerged and vendors have ramped up with a slew of new smartphone models. Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android if one of […]

Microsoft is trying to boost its mobile presence, and making overtures to hardened rivals in the process, most notably Google. But the mobile application space is a little different than other sectors in which the tech titans compete. For Microsoft, its mobile strategy involves spreading its Bing search engine to multiple platforms, including Google’s Android. […]

Microsoft has put Jigantic.com on notice, suing the online software reseller for allegedly trafficking pirated copies of SQL Server 2008. Microsoft set up a sting operation to ensnare the company, hiring an investigator in 2008 to purchase software on Jigantic.com to gather evidence about a so-called “bait-and-switch” scheme. Microsoft is accusing the company of passing […]

Following a series of setbacks in a costly patent dispute, Microsoft is prevailing on the highest court in the land to take its case as it looks to escape a looming $290 million judgment. The case involves i4i, a small Toronto firm that claims that Microsoft infringed on its patent relating to customer XML technology. […]